Briefs: Marion Black Joy Summerfest, John Green Cemetery celebration, community breakfast

Marion Black Joy Summerfest June 24 at MLK Park

The third annual Marion Black Joy Summerfest is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. on June 24 at Martin Luther King Park, 205 Cass Avenue. The event is presented by OhioHealth with grant funding from the Marion Community Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

Organizers said the "family-friendly outdoor event celebrating the power of Black joy, the vibrancy of Marion Black heritage and the diversity of Marion Black cultural traditional arts will feature spoken word and musical performances, three narrative stage live interviewing sessions, line dancing workshops, a kids' racial justice imagination station arts area, a brand-new pop-up Black history exhibit by the Marion Voices team complementing Marion Voices' recent Marion 1919 historic marker efforts at MLK Park. Headlining band is Brianna O'Dell and Friends."

Admission is free. Food will be available for purchase. Confirmed food trucks include Main Street Food Tent (Marion), Pop'n & Roll'n (Marion), Omar's Caribbean Cuisine (Delaware).

John Green Cemetery 60th rededication celebration set for July 4

The Declaration of Independence will again be read at the John Green Cemetery to all who wish to attend at noon on July 4. Spouses, family and all friends are welcome for the 60th year celebration.

Jo Anne Rollison will read the Declaration of Independence, which is expected to take 20 minutes. There will be no speeches. Those attending are invited to bring a picnic lunch, blanket, card table, etc. to enjoy after the reading.

John Green Cemetery is located just off Prospect-Upper Sandusky Road on the east side, approximately 7.9 miles north of Big Island and 2 miles south of Harpster. Look for the American Flag on power pole.

In case of rain, the event will be held at the firehouse in Morral.

For more information, call Judy Swartz at 740-496-4242 or 740-360-2901 or Becky Swoager at 614-888-2805 or 614-203-0023.

Free community breakfast on Saturday

The Prospect Street United Methodist Church at 185 S. Prospect St. in Marion will host a free community breakfast from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday. Donations will be accepted.

ODOT updating statewide airport system plan, public invited to comment

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s 104 public use airports generate billions of dollars for the state’s economy each year. The Ohio Department of Transportation is asking for the public’s help as it begins a comprehensive analysis and overview of airports to help identify needed improvements for future growth and sustainability.

The Ohio Airport System Plan (OASP) is updated every 10 years. The last report, released in 2014, found the airport system supports more than 123,000 jobs and produces an economic impact that exceeds $13 billion annually.

One of the goals of the plan is to provide the ODOT Office of Aviation and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a methodology for prioritizing and funding airport development projects.

As part of this process, ODOT is looking for public input and the opportunity to provide information about the process, goals, and study recommendations during a virtual public meeting at 10 a.m. on July 19.

A Virtual Public Meeting Room will continue to be updated and ultimately house all project documents including frequently asked questions, a glossary of technical terms and abbreviations, project maps, materials presented during each public meeting, public notices and milestones relevant to the project.

The public is also encouraged to take a pre-meeting survey by July 5 ahead of the July 19 meeting.

The final report is due to be released in 2025.

Upcoming meetings:

● Scioto Conservancy District, 4:30 p.m., Monday, AgCredit conference room, 1100 E. Center St., Marion

● North Central Ohio Educational Service Center Board of Governors, 7 p.m., Tuesday, NCOESC Tiffin Campus, 928 W. Market St., Tiffin

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Briefs: Black Joy Summerfest, cemetery rededication, free breakfast